I say this because, Mr. Mom has become my life. A few years ago, I decided that I wanted to retire young from working for someone else and do my own thing. This is a common trait amongst Adult ADDers (see previous post on ADD) and after retiring from the ridged structure of Air Force life, I wanted something that wasn't so predictable and organized. I wanted to become an entrepreneur. But I also wanted to continue to bring home money and not retire to a recliner and television. So with the help of a mentor and friend, I developed a couple of investments to accent my military retirement pay to a level that kept the pressure of needing a 9-5 J. O. B. and all the stuff that comes with it. Life was great, I was actually getting up early, going to Edgefield for coffee, riding my road bike 40 - 50 miles every other day, and generally spending a lot of quality time with myself. That's not the case now.
Nothing is more rewarding than raising your own children at home, but it doesn't seem that way when you are dealing with it. Sometimes we don't recognize the joy and achievement of a task until we've past it and reflect back on the situation. I was thoroughly excited when we found out that we were pregnant with Makenna. Working from home and being the supporting spouse, I looked forward to the joy of being a Mr. Mom and had no problems preparing myself for this. I can say after three years of full-time work in this role, that it hasn't always been fun, but I still love it. As I mentioned in an earlier post, I fell and broke my leg on the day before Makenna's first birthday. That was fun, scootering around the house on a knee caddy with a baby on my arm all the time. I soon developed a supinator muscle condition in my right arm, a common injury with moms according to my orthopedist caring for my broken limb. That happened in winter, a season that often challenged my morale, especially when I was drinking liquid depressants. Being housebound with poopie diapers for three to six months is no fun at all! Even without the broken leg, I have gained a enormous amount of respect for stay-at-home moms of either gender. I'd have to say that things starting looking brighter again with the change in seasons and the healing of the wounds, and when Makenna started going to daycare/learning center half days, three days a week.
So here's my routine now:
Monday - Get Kandy and Makenna off to work and school, make beds, put away dishes and bathroom stuff, take out compost and garbage, play a video game, hit the gym by 10am, Starbucks at 11:45, pickup Makenna at 12:15, shop at Fred Meyer or Trader Joe's, put Makenna down for a nap, check in online with my gaming buddies, 4:30pm, get Makenna up, do pots and pans from night before, start dinner sometimes, and greet Kandy at the door to take her bag and coffee cup...sometimes kiss, kiss.
Tuesday - Get up, Makenna on potty, make juice and toast, Kandy off to work, Makenna dressed, all the other stuff in Monday's scheudle except for the video games and Makenna to school. 10:00am, Edgfield for coffee and oatmeal. Get outside when able, meet mom for lunch when able, etc., etc!
Need I go into Wednesday through Friday? Let's just say that Wednesday and Friday are similar to Monday and Thursday is exactly like Tuesday. The only real difference in the week is Friday where I do four loads of laundry and clean a tub/shower/sink and two toilets. Oh, Wednesday is garbage/recycling day so I get up early to get the containers out on the curb by 6amish. So that's my week in a nutshell. And yes, I do sometimes feel like I'm in Groundhog Day, were ever day seems the same. Maybe a vacation would be great.
Let's see, vacation, oh yeah, I remember last year where I went with Kandy and Makenna to Maui for 8 days. I say I went with them, because when you are a full-time parent and you go on vacation with your children, you're still a parent and have a job to do while you are on holiday. Kandy took a week off from the lighting business but I still got to do my job on vacation. I enjoyed Maui and would like to do more like that, but I felt guilty for wanting to go off on my own away from Kandy and Makenna sometimes, and I didn't feel that Kandy understood this.. For those of you with careers outside the home, try to imagine you going to Mexico and taking your laptop, cellphone, conference room, and clients with you. That's my vacation.
VIDEO: Makenna at 18 Months doing her ABCs
Milestones are great, and I look forward to are getting out of car seats and pull-up training pants. The logistics of sharing a car seat between two vehicles is tough sometimes, one because they grow to the next level quickly, and two, you can't really justify the $200 - $300 price tag of a second unit for such a short time. So the best thing is to work with it while you have to deal with it. At least when Makenna was younger, we had two base units, one in each vehicle, and we only had to lock in her carrier seat. But that is usually over by age one. I know this is nothing compared to the teenage years as we've already been through that, but at age 47, I can say that I have more patience and maturity, but I am also set in my old ways.
In the movie, Michael Keaton talks about yelling at one of his kids for coloring outside the lines, and that he and one of his other children watch the same TV shows and he is starting to like them. That's me! I just have to remind myself that this is all passing time and that it's definitely worth it. Our parents did it for us, and our children are our greatest joy in our lives. Makenna spoils me sometimes, she's so good. Check out her video link above and sign on to reply to posts to share your parenting experiences. Until next time, be safe and , oh, I have to go, someone just threw up on the carpet...argh! Breathe Don, just breathe.
Cheers,
Don (Aviator)
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